Sins of the Father
by NinjaWhisper
Summary: Response to request by Charismatic Beauty. A mysterious alien appears on Earth, set on targeting Vegeta. But, instead of hitting him directly with brute force, the villain decides to go through his son, Trunks. Why? Who is this villain? And better yet, how will Vegeta react when his own son declares him an enemy?
1. Chapter 1

Sins of the Father

By NinjaWhisper

(premise and request by Charismatic Beauty)

Summary – A mysterious alien appears on Earth, set on targeting Vegeta. But, instead of hitting him directly with brute force, the villain decides to go through his son, Trunks. Why? Who is this villain? And better yet, how will Vegeta react when his own son declares him an enemy?

Chapter 1

Peace was not kind to Vegeta. Eight years passed since the battle of Buu and with each one he grew a little more restless, a little grumpier (if that was even possible). After Buu, Bulma had high hopes for her husband, and for a little while he was more supportive and attentive, meeting her expectations. But when Trunks entered into his teen years and began to discover other interests besides training, Vegeta seemed to go downhill. It wasn't that he reverted back to a bastard, but most of the time he wasn't that enjoyable to be around. A warrior without wartime was like a ship without sea, and he simply had no purpose or goal.

When Bra was born, Bulma thought he might perk up; but, when he set her two tiny feet within the gravity room she whined her head off to go watch an anime about a cat instead. And now . . . Now Goku had to prance away to train some kid named Uub. . .

Bulma sighed. This was just about as bad as after Goku died during the Cell battle. She understood Vegeta like no one else could, and she realized that he was going through a period of drifting without direction. A midlife crisis basically. He even bought a black leather jacket the other day. It was only time before he purchased the motorcycle to match.

She ran the duster over her worktable and desk. An outsider would have dropped their jaw at the sight of Mrs. Bulma Briefs, Zeninaire and heir to CC, cleaning. There was no way that she would allow a maid or even a bot to touch her scientific tools, notes, and equipment down in the lab. The feathers hit something, followed by a clatter.

"Son of a Namek!" Bulma exclaimed. She instantly threw her right palm over her mouth. Geez, she was picking up on Vegeta's phrases. She shook her head and gave a giggle. The laughter stopped when she noticed what had fallen off the desk. She lifted the picture frame to identify a jagged crack in the frame, resembling a schism across their family photo. The picture had been taken by her mother shortly after the Buu fight. Vegeta had his head turned, his cheeks red. Trunks, the little boy he used to be, held his father's gloved hand with a look of pride. She herself leaned in close to both of them. Such happy times, such hopeful times.

I'll get a better frame, she thought. She set it down on the worktable.

Bulma raised her gaze to fall on the darkened screen on the other side of the lab. She tried to give Vegeta his privacy these days but she still used the screen to call him to dinner and such. Today, she had a sense of curiosity. It was 10:50 and her boys would still be in the middle of their training session. She walked over and flipped the one-way switch.

The screen blinked on, and she saw the dimly lit gravity room. The blue, black, and purple blotches moved at a heightened speed that prevented Bulma from fully making out the action. Vegeta punched furiously at the lesser muscled body. Trunks dodged, hopping around like a pinball.

"Come on, is that all you have, boy?"

The teen slowed, panting. Vegeta came up, hovering, above his head. He gazed down at his son like an ant. "You are pathetic. The other Trunks wasn't as sluggish and weak. Maybe I should go find him to spar with."

Trunks raised his head and Bulma had never seen the look in his eyes that he gave his father then. The eyes resembled Vegeta's more than her own, dark and full of disdain.

Vegeta lowered and knee-kicked Trunks in the gut. Bulma gasped, a hand reaching out in the air. No. She had a hard time believing that all their training sessions had been this brutal. This was getting out of hand.

"Should I even call you a Saiyan? I most certainly cannot call you a prince of mine. I wouldn't even allow a third-class clown like Kakarot to give you the respect."

Okay, now Bulma was pissed. Just yesterday he called Bra his princess; a three-year-old who did nothing but dress up, play tea party, and watch shows about sharing. As Kami as her witness, she was not going to stand by and allow Vegeta to tear down their son this way. He won the science fair. He fixed the plane when the engine died. He played that trick on Krillin in which he thought his hair was falling out. They all laughed at that, even Vegeta. Trunks was a smart kid with a bright future. There was more to life than being able to smack your father around.

Trunks turned his head and spat blood.

"I hate you," Trunks stated. His voice was cool, calm, solid as ice.

No one was perceptive enough to catch Vegeta's subtleties but Bulma. She caught the way Vegeta stiffened. She couldn't fully see his eyes due to the camera angle, but she knew that they were hardened only to mask the hurt from below. She was caught between thinking his actions justified the stab and feeling empathy.

Okay, enough. Bulma turned to head upstairs to break up the scene. Somehow she could fix this. There had to be a way to reach Vegeta and bring him out of this funk. All she wanted to do for Trunks was hug him and tell him she loved him.

Just as she made it to the stairs, a body hurled past. It took her a few seconds to recognize it as Trunks fleeing the premises. There was a time that Trunks used the windows to escape but now he only used the door.

"Trunks! Wait, come back here!"

No response. She heard a loud bang. Gone. Why did men always have to run away from their problems?

Bulma stomped down the hall. "Vegeta!" she called.

The door to the GR was ajar and she pushed it open. Vegeta touched a few buttons, probably shutting off the temperature control. She crossed her arms, blocking the escape route.

"What the hell was that?"

Calmly, Vegeta met her eyes. "Nothing."

"It most certainly was something, Vegeta. Trunks doesn't fly out the door on a good day."

Her husband seemed massive despite his height and she shivered. He seemed overpowering as he stepped towards her and she had the impulse to back up. "It is none of your damn business."

Bulma raised her chin. "It most certainly is my business. This is my family and I can't stand back and watch it fall apart."

"This is a Saiyan matter. You don't understand," he said.

"That's not what I saw. I saw a son who thinks his father doesn't love him."

Vegeta's eyes and nostrils flared. She reached out to him. "But I know that isn't true."

He took the hand from his chest. He firmly but not roughly pushed her aside. "I'm going to take a shower."

One of Bulma's traits was to not back down. So, of course, she followed. She was about to press the issue further but stopped when she spotted Bra peek her head from around the corner. She held a naked Barbie Doll.

"Papa, help me find a party dress?"

Vegeta stopped and stared down at the doll with tangled hair. "I don't dress up pieces of plastic! I fight. I don't go to science fairs or pageants, or watch reruns on television. I fight and I power up. That is what we Saiyans do."

The little girl in polka-dots flinched. Her bottom lip wobbled but she didn't cry. Bulma stepped forward and scooped her daughter up. Bra held her mother's neck.

"Vegeta, what the hell is wrong with you lately?"

From the incredulous look he gave she knew he asked himself the same question.


	2. Chapter 2

Sins of the Father

By NinjaWhisper

(premise and request by Charismatic Beauty)

Summary – A mysterious alien appears on Earth, set on targeting Vegeta. But, instead of hitting him directly with brute force, the villain decides to go through his son, Trunks. Why? Who is this villain? And better yet, how will Vegeta react when his own son declares him an enemy?

Chapter 2

The sky grew dark with occasional flashes of light. It would storm soon but Trunks kept flying, even though he had no idea where he was headed. He thought about stopping at the Son household, but for some reason couldn't bring himself to turn in that direction. Goten was an upbeat teen with little worry. Trunks didn't know if he could stand his jokes and smiles at the moment. Plus, there was Goku, who was attentive since getting back, even to Trunks who was not his son, a stark contrast to Vegeta's harsh training regime. There were times (when Goku instructed how to properly reel in a fishing pole or make a campfire) that Trunks actually wished he had Goku for a father instead. Goku was active in his sons' lives. He wanted to share in multiple areas, not just fighting.

Goku saw his two boys as worthy of showing interest, getting to know them as people. Trunks envied his best friend for having the opportunity to know something he never had. No . . . He would not visit Goten, not now. He needed to be alone.

Lightning and the crash of thunder came, followed by rain. Trunks wished he grabbed his Capsule Corp jacket on the way out. The battle suit was thin and the water soaked through. Trunks lowered atop a mountain cliff. Droplets slid down his hair and into his eyes. He shivered from the cold, but refused to turn back home. Instead, he sat down, cross-legged.

Trunks closed his eyes, intent on meditating the way Piccolo often did, but his mind would not shut off. Instead, he remembered how things used to be with Vegeta. As a child, he had a good relationship with his father. It wasn't that Vegeta changed. No, it was Trunks who changed. He'd been blinded by youth and idealism. Trunks had admired his father as a hero, a Saiyan champion; one of the good guys. Even after Vegeta became Majin and destroyed the bleachers at the tournament, Trunks did not see that his father was selfish. But now . . . Now he knew. He'd learned the truth.

That his father was part of an intergalactic tyranny. That he'd followed a monster. That he'd killed billions of people. As far as Trunks knew, Vegeta had never shown that he regretted it either.

The information about Vegeta's past transformed their relationship, distancing them; along with Bra's birth and Trunks's expansion of interests beyond training. As a teen, Trunks wondered whether any of his perceptions as a child was accurate. One question loomed before all. Had his father ever loved him?

He took in a long shaky breath, despite trying to deep breathe in a meditative manner.

One memory flashed in Trunks's mind that he always tried not to think about because it led to conflict. The only time Vegeta hugged him in his entire life. Trunks had been eight or nine at the time, and Buu already beat his father up because Vegeta's arm dripped blood and one pants leg had been ripped. He'd wanted to help his dad so badly. Vegeta told him to go away, that he had to do it alone. He'd told him to take care of his mother. And then he'd hugged him, told him he was proud, knocked him out . . .

Trunks stood up and hollered into the spray of rain. Dammit. He hated his father. He was angry at his father for going Majin and killing people in the stadium. He could never forgive his father for being part of Frieza's army and erasing whole populations. He was furious that his father sacrificed himself. That he'd let him down after Buu. He'd thought that his father would be different. That he'd be there. But he was the same. Still just as distant and shut off. All about Saiyan training and pride.

Worse of all . . . Trunks noticed his arms shook at his sides. Worse of all . . . He detested that his father had told him about who he'd been. A murderer and a villain, the complete opposite of that image that Trunks had held about his father for so long. He would have rather not known.

Why? Why would his father do that? It was like he didn't care. Some things should be kept in the past. But Vegeta told him everything. Even that he'd been responsible for Cell's perfect form. That he hadn't saved the plane when Trunks had been a baby because he hadn't cared. He said it all with a straight face, no remorse.

Dammit. His father wasn't worth his time. He never got anything back. Nothing but disappointment.

"You are exactly right, Vegeta is not exactly father material and he will never be what he is not."

Trunks startled at the voice but it could have been from the thump of thunder. He spun to see nothing but rock and sky. He turned. No one. For a moment he thought he caught black smoke but it might have been a trick of the eye.

"Who is there?" Trunks felt stupid talking to the air.

"Calm yourself, I mean no harm. I'm here to help you, Trunks Briefs." The voice was masculine and not too young or too old.

Trunks narrowed his eyes. "How do you know my name?"

"I know everything about you."

Trunks shivered, feeling as if something cold brushed against his left leg.

"I know that your father hurt you. I know that you don't feel loved. I can help you get revenge."

"Revenge? You're crazy. I'm out of here." Trunks prepared to lift off but he felt pulled back like a magnet.

"Wait! Tell me what is on your mind. Tell me your disappointment and agony."

"I'm not telling you anything!" Trunks shouted. He considered going super to break free.

Icy wind rushed past the side of his face. Flashes played in Trunks's mind. He saw his father beat Goku. He saw his father standing like stone as a plane fell from the sky. He saw his father as he allowed Cell to gain power from the androids. He saw him going Majin. He saw these things, although he hadn't been there, followed by the devastated and forlorn reaction of his mother at the Tournament and after Vegeta's death.

One small, childlike voice battled against the visions. _Papa is a hero now. _But grown-up Trunks knew the truth. The voice and the images illuminated the reality of his father. His father was selfish, uncaring, and greedy for supremacy. Nothing had changed.

Vegeta was not human, even though he'd lived on Earth for years; an alien who had never learned the importance of morality or kinship. Aloof and distant.

Inner little Trunks cried. Big Trunks relaxed his shoulders and smiled. The mist swam and swallowed them both.

AN – I'm sorry this took so long. I had some writer's block but now I have it planned.


End file.
